


Memories

by Burrahobbit



Series: "Simpler" verse [3]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Gen, Papyrus Knows More Than He Lets On, Papyrus can see the future, Papyrus is Gaster, Papyrus-centric, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, Sans Is Gaster, Sans Needs A Hug, So don't worry, the character death is Gaster though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-03
Updated: 2017-04-03
Packaged: 2018-10-14 08:26:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10532658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burrahobbit/pseuds/Burrahobbit
Summary: Sometimes, it's hard for Papyrus to tell what is a vision and what is a memory.(You won't really understand this if you haven't read my other fic, Simpler, so probably go read that.)





	

**Author's Note:**

> In case there's any confusion, the first part takes place a little while before Frisk falls into the underground.

The first odd thing was that he had two visions in one day - something that usually only happened when they were nearing a reset, which didn't seem remotely close to happening.

One was a vision he'd seen a few times before - waking up in a field of flowers, only to see a ghostly child standing next to him, looking just as perplexed as he felt.

The other was disjointed, and foggy. He was running, running, feeling sweat drip down his skull as he raced through Hotland.

Then he was laughing, but stopped suddenly as something clutched around him - vines, he knew with frightening familiarity - and Flowey was cackling, calling someone an idiot. After that, it was even more unreal, almost static-y in nature. At the end, he stared at his brother, but in the fog it felt like...

It felt like he was staring at himself. Which, would be crazy to think, right? They didn't even look alike.

When he was pulled out of the vision, which had grown so seamless nobody even noticed he'd blacked out, he was left to ponder what each meant.

That night, he had a dream. Far from the strangest place to have a vision, except this felt different, somehow. More familiar, though he was sure he'd never seen it.  
He could feel someone staring at him from behind, but when he turned around, he couldn't focus on who it was.

Then Asgore was standing in front of him, a grim expression on his face, saying something he couldn't make out at first.

"...you have to understand this position I'm in."

"I don't," Papyrus said, although he was sure it wasn't his perspective he was viewing this from.

Except...

Was it?

"Please. The people need hope."

Papyrus clenched his fists, the gears in his mind racing faster than he could really keep up with at the moment.

 _Impossible,_ his mind kept telling him. _This is impossible._

"You know even I can't do this."

Once again, he couldn't make out what the King was saying, and the scene faded to black.

Then there were red lights flashing around him, and this time his heart was racing as he hurried to turn nobs and desperately try to stop something.

Before he awoke, all he could think was, _this is all my fault._

 

His brother didn't look happy that they were finally on the surface. After everything they went through to get there, he thought there would be more smiles and celebrations from Sans.

A moment later, it hit him like a wave, crashing over him in a series of revelations as they made their way down the mountain.

At first, they felt like visions, but this time he could clearly identify their true nature only seconds later - these were memories.

Vivid and horrifying, yes, but still.

He could barely make himself walk without falling under the weight of- of this, so he told Undyne he'd run too fast and tired himself out, and that he'd meet them all at the bottom. She gave him a sympathetic look and moved on.

Papyrus couldn't remember everything - not yet. This, however, was enough for now.

The lab, the experiments, _Gaster._ They were all clear in his mind now, even though minutes ago he had no idea any of it had existed - or, at least, not in relation to him.

Absent-mindedly, he thumbed over the holes in his hands covered by red gloves, piecing together things he had never thought about.

Sans was beside him instantly, utilizing his shortcut to not have to walk downhill.

"Please tell me you remembered too," he said in a lighthearted tone, but his empty sockets betrayed the short monster's obvious anxiety.

"Yes, Sans. I remember."

The skeleton sat down, and his brother followed suit, stuffing gloved hands into his coat pockets.

"Do you think it was the Underground keeping us from knowing, making us forget? I can't think of anything else it could be."

Papyrus shrugged, glancing over to his brother.

"Will the others remember?" Sans asked.

"I don't know. But I hope so."

"You do?"

Papyrus sat up straighter, watching his friends make their way down the path. "They deserve to know. _Asgore_ deserves to know- know what happened to him."

"To us, you mean?"

Papyrus shook his head, a small smile on his skull.

"We're not him anymore."

There was a pause in the conversation as both of them thought everything over.

"Does this mean we aren't really brothers?" Sans asked jokingly, but there was slight disappointment in his voice.

Papyrus wrapped his arms around him tightly, trying to put all his feeling into the hug.

"Of course we're brothers. We have been for years. I'd never give that up for anything."


End file.
